BELOW are excerpts of viewpoints from two selected research houses on what investors can expect in the day ahead:
Inter-Pacific Research
The FBM KLCI continues to make headway after the Christmas break, firming up to above the 1,610 level on continuing support from local institutions in what is seen as window dressing activities ahead of the year-end.
Most lower liners also rose, enabling gainers to beat losing stocks by more than a 2-to-1 ratio. Expectedly, key broader market indices also rose but traded volumes stayed largely on the low side with just about 2.5 billion shares changing hands yesterday.
The past few sessions’ recovery has allowed the key index to climb back above the 200-day moving average line – a positive sign indicating that the FBM KLCI is in a bullish uptrend.
However, we still think positivity is benign for the time being as the gains are largely seen as window dressing with the longevity of the upsides remain in question.
At the same time, there is little change to Bursa Malaysia’s fundamentals that has become more unsettled due to the persistent selling by foreign institutions and could continue to weigh on sentiments over the near-to-medium term.
For now, however, the window dressing activities could persist as the key index aims for a more positive close to the year and could target the 1,615-1,617 levels over the near term, before making a pass at the 1,620-1,622 levels.
On the downside, the immediate support is at 1,610 points, followed by the 1,605 level.
Malacca Securities Research
The local bourse continued to trade higher as buying interest was seen across the blue-chip stocks, lifting the FBM KLCI index.
In the US, Wall Street closed mixed in thin trade following the Christmas holiday. The weekly US jobless claims data released yesterday came out at 219,000, lower than most of the economists’ expectation of 224,000, signalling stronger employment market.
Meanwhile, traders will also continue to keep track on the crude oil inventories later today. In the commodities market, Brent crude ended slightly lower at US$73.26/barrel.
Gold prices traded flat around US$2,630/oz while CPO (crude palm oil) prices continued to stay above the RM4,500/metric tonne mark.
The FBM KLCI showed some recovery signals by breaking above the EMA20. The MACD Histogram has turned positive while the RSI has crossed above 50, suggesting that the momentum is fairly positive.
Resistance is anticipated around 1,628-1,633 while support is set at 1,593-1,598. – Dec 27, 2024
